A Tennessee Democratic state senator called for riots on Friday after the Republican-controlled state Senate passed a bill preventing ...
A Tennessee Democratic state senator called for riots on Friday after the Republican-controlled state Senate passed a bill preventing cities from restricting their police forces from making certain traffic stops.
State Sen. Charlane Oliver, who represents Nashville, said the Republicans’ pro-police legislation is “rooted in racism,” and will force those in her district to “fight like hell.” The bill was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor after Memphis passed an ordinance that banned traffic stops for issues such as expired registrations, a single inoperable headlight or brake light, and loose bumpers, News Channel 3 reported.
The Memphis city council passed the ordinance following the death of Tyre Nichols, a black man, who was fatally injured during a confrontation with five black Memphis police officers on January 7, 2023, after he was pulled over.
“It is a slap in the face and you might as well stomp on the grave of Tyre Nichols,” Oliver said after the state Senate passed Taylor’s bill by a vote of 26-6. “Yes, we are emotionally charged. Why? Because it’s personal for us. Taylor made this personal the minute he introduced this legislation to target one family and one life that was lost.”
“So yeah, we gonna fight,” Oliver added. “Dr. King said that riots are the language of the unheard. You ain’t seen nothing yet. If you keep silencing us like this, what do you think our district is going to do? We have had it up here. Gloves are off. Like, we gonna fight like hell. You don’t expect us to respond when you gaslight us every single day with these bills?”
“It is rooted in racism,” she continued. “This is a Jim Crow bill that [Sen. Brent] Taylor brought and all his Confederates voted for it.”
The five Memphis police officers who got into the confrontation with Nichols were charged in his death. Footage from a camera mounted on a nearby pole area showed officers kicking and beating Nichols while he was on the ground. Last November, one of the five officers pleaded guilty to excessive force and obstruction of justice in exchange for prosecutors recommending a 15-year prison sentence.
Oliver, who has been in office since 2022, co-founded the Equity Alliance, a non-profit organization that focuses on “education, housing and environmental justice, jobs and economic opportunity, criminal justice and public safety, politics and democracy, and healthcare – as well as reparations.”
Taylor responded to Oliver’s remarks on the legislation, writing, “Despite your overwhelming support for my bill that prohibits local governments from banning legal routine traffic stops, leftist opposition has been insane and totally out of touch with reality and our community’s demands.”
“I have been hearing from people in Democrat districts who have thanked me for passing this important legislation,” Taylor added. “These community members are tired of crime and bad policies that don’t allow police to do their jobs.”
The bill now heads to Republican Governor Bill Lee’s desk, and he has 10 days to either sign or veto the legislation before it would become law without a signature.
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